Chapter 1: First Encounter

Shen Chaoyi skillfully skirted Renyi High School and stopped in front of the Redeemed Internet Cafe, which was a few hundred meters away.

She was there to find her younger brother Shen Gan, who was a senior in high school this year. The internet cafe was very close to the school, so without a doubt, Shen Gan would be here. She had already found Shen Gan here twice before.

She quietly circled behind Shen Gan, who was wearing earphones and dominating the game. Her usually gentle brows and eyes now carried a rare layer of anger at seeing her brother, who should have been in class, excitedly yelling at the computer game.

She patted Shen Gan on the back, but unlike other parents who caught their kids skipping school to go online, she didn’t shout accusations. She pressed her lips together. Her bright face remained gentle and soft, but her voice was cold. “Shen Gan.”

She called out, and the boy turned his head, removing his earphones. Instantly, the smile at the corner of his mouth froze. The next second, before Shen Chaoyi could speak, he stood up reluctantly, grumbling, “It’s that old guy snitching again, isn’t it? So annoying. They know Mom and Dad can’t control me, so they keep calling you.”

Shen Chaoyi was a doctor in the Emergency Department of the First People’s Hospital, thirty-two years old, and usually very busy, unable to even find time to rest. “You promised me you wouldn’t skip class,” she said, frowning slightly. She was a bit angry at Shen Gan’s deception.

Shen Gan was over 1.8 meters tall, a head taller than her even in high heels. His confident, flamboyant face was full of dissatisfaction. He wanted to make some excuses, but because of his sister’s rare cold expression, he shut his mouth.

“Let’s go home.” Shen Chaoyi naturally wouldn’t embarrass Shen Gan in public. Without saying anything else, she turned and left.

“Shen Gan, your sister came to get you again?” “You’re a grown man, can’t you handle yourself?” “Your sister’s pretty hot, huh?” “Introduce us?” The classmates watching the scene behind them couldn’t help but chime in.

In an instant, a fierce light flashed in Shen Gan’s eyes. His handsome, heroic features turned cold, giving him an imposing aura without even needing to be angry. He naturally couldn’t stand hearing his sister being teased. But since Shen Chaoyi was here today, he wouldn’t cause trouble and bring her more problems. He withdrew his gaze and obediently followed behind Shen Chaoyi.

As they reached the doorway, Yi Qingzhuo, dressed all in black with a black hat, strode in with the wind, walking straight ahead without glancing sideways. Shen Chaoyi happened to see her and stopped in her tracks. She called out, “Miss Yi, if you keep letting high school students in your internet cafe, I’m going to report you.”

Yi Qingzhuo, who had just returned from outside, was inexplicably scolded. She glanced displeasedly at the woman with a face full of anger in front of her. “What are you talking about?” Her dark eyes swept over the woman’s elegant, intellectual attire and high heels. Her gaze settled on Shen Gan behind her. It looked like a parent had come to catch a high school student who had skipped class to go online.

By this time, Shen Chaoyi was no longer looking at Yi Qingzhuo. She only left a sentence, “Don’t let him in anymore.” And then walked out of the internet cafe with Shen Gan.

Yi Qingzhuo didn’t understand what was going on. She lazily withdrew her gaze and coldly curled her lips. She walked to the front desk of the internet cafe and kicked the butt of Li Hengyang, who was sound asleep on the table. Her slender fingers pulled out the tablet he was lying on. Her voice was cold. “Sleeping so soundly? Did I hire you to sleep?” She casually flipped through the tablet and didn’t find any internet access records for minors. Besides, her internet cafe had always strictly forbidden minors from using it.

Li Hengyang’s butt hurt. He was about to jump up to see who dared to kick him, but as soon as he opened his eyes and saw Yi Qingzhuo, all traces of drowsiness vanished. He quickly stood up, laughing nervously. “Sister Zhuo, I was just watching the store and took a quick nap. Don’t worry, Little Dong and the others are watching. Nothing will go wrong.”

Yi Qingzhuo’s deep eyes stared at Li Hengyang. With one hand in her pocket, she tossed the tablet back into his arms. “I’ve been gone for a few days, and you take my words as wind? Letting minors in to use the internet?”

“No way! I’m a law-abiding citizen. How could I let minors in?” Li Hengyang had no idea what was going on, unaware of the scene at the door just now. But he still vouched for himself confidently.

Yi Qingzhuo didn’t want to waste words. She rewound the surveillance footage by a few minutes, and the frame froze on the image of Shen Chaoyi standing behind Shen Gan. She tilted her chin, signaling Li Hengyang to explain. Parent coming to the internet cafe to catch a child—that had never happened at Yi Qingzhuo’s cafe. She didn’t allow minors online, didn’t even let them step through the door. So naturally, there was no such thing as parents coming to pick up kids here. Shen Chaoyi was the first.

But it wasn’t the scene of rage and fury that Yi Qingzhuo had imagined. “No, that guy is called Shen Gan. He’s definitely an adult. The ID is his own; he’s already 18. And some of the guys he came with are even 20. They really are adults. I couldn’t just stop them from coming in,” Li Hengyang explained, recognizing Shen Gan and glancing at the other guys still gaming.

Yi Qingzhuo was unforgiving. If someone broke the rules and let minors in, getting yelled at was the best case; usually, they were just fired on the spot. Li Hengyang was very satisfied with this job—good pay, little work, and the only downside was the boss being a bit scary. He absolutely wouldn’t dare sneak minors in.

“I see. You can get off work now.” Yi Qingzhuo didn’t dwell on it. She pulled out the comfortable boss chair, sat down, crossed her long legs, and waved her hand to signal Li Hengyang to go home. Usually, when Yi Qingzhuo was watching the shop, Li Hengyang would get off work early.

“Okay, Sister.” Li Hengyang happily shouldered his bag and left without lingering.

Yi Qingzhuo propped her chin on her hand, looking at the face on the computer screen—a face that seemed gentle and calm, completely out of place in the noisy internet cafe. Her Martin boots swayed. Yi Qingzhuo rarely had the interest to watch the entire process of Shen Chaoyi coming in to find someone two or three times. No loud reprimands, no glaring. Probably that “I’m going to report you” to Yi Qingzhuo was even fiercer than what she said to Shen Gan, who had skipped class to play games. So gentle. Could she really control the tall and strong Shen Gan? Yi Qingzhuo snorted coldly. She had been scolded without knowing anything, and it was inexplicably annoying.

After watching for a bit, Yi Qingzhuo turned off the surveillance. She was used to enduring inexplicable hostility, so she didn’t take it too much to heart.

Emergency Department of First People’s Hospital

“Doctor Shen, can you help me with a patient’s debridement here? I need to deliver a report to Director Zhou; he needs it urgently.”

“Okay, I’ll be right there.”

“It’s in Consultation Room 2. Thanks, Doctor Shen.”

“Mm.”

Shen Chaoyi pushed the small dressing cart and entered the Second Examination Room. Lowering her head, after preparing the cart, she asked in a gentle voice, “Where are you injured?”

The woman dressed in black heard this and raised her head, revealing a face that had been partly hidden by long black hair. Her heroic features were cold and hard as she looked at Shen Chaoyi. Their eyes met, and both were startled. Neither expected that after yesterday’s brief encounter, they would meet again today in this way. Doctor and patient.

But Yi Qingzhuo quickly hid her emotions. She took off her black jacket by herself, revealing the white shirt underneath, which was already stained with blood. It looked terrifying and shocking to the eyes. When she rolled up her sleeve, Yi Qingzhuo’s entire right arm was covered in blood. Blood flowed over her fair skin, making it impossible to find the injury at first glance. Moreover, the blood pooled in Yi Qingzhuo’s palm and dripped from her fingertips onto the floor, drop by drop. But Yi Qingzhuo’s face showed no extra expression. Her face had splatters of blood, and even the corners of her mouth were bleeding. Yi Qingzhuo only lowered her eyelids. The coldness she exuded was from deep within, making anyone standing before her want to retreat.

Shen Chaoyi’s pupils contracted. She was stunned for three seconds before coming back to her senses. She didn’t mention yesterday. She also didn’t know if Yi Qingzhuo recognized that the person standing here with a mask on was the same person who had warned her yesterday. Using tweezers to pick up a piece of gauze, she gestured for Yi Qingzhuo to put her hand on the treatment table. “Put it here. Don’t move.”

Yi Qingzhuo obediently placed her hand on it without a word.

“I’m going to disinfect it now. It will hurt a bit. Bear with it.” Shen Chaoyi saw the wound that wouldn’t stop bleeding, a mess of flesh and blood. Thinking of the alcohol in her hand, perhaps because they were both women, she couldn’t help but glance a couple more times at the expressionless Yi Qingzhuo. But the latter was completely unbothered, head lowered, revealing only the casually placed band-aid on her lip and her straight nose bridge.

Without further words, Shen Chaoyi lightened her movements and focused entirely on disinfecting Yi Qingzhuo’s wound. The moment the alcohol touched the wound, even Shen Chaoyi couldn’t help but stop her movements. But Yi Qingzhuo only took a sharp breath, gritted her teeth, and pressed her lips tightly together. She didn’t make a sound. Her endurance was remarkable. Even having worked in the busy Emergency Department for several years, Shen Chaoyi had never seen someone who could endure pain so well. Especially a woman.

She silently sped up her movements and finished the disinfection as quickly as possible. After wiping away the blood, Shen Chaoyi realized that there was not just one wound on her arm, but three of varying sizes. Each one was a knife wound, and the deepest was six centimeters long, with flesh turned outward, a sight that made one’s heart pound. Had she endured this all the way here?

Looking at the shocking wounds, Shen Chaoyi couldn’t help but say, “So many wounds. They will leave scars.” Her voice was very soft, faintly laced with concern.

Hearing this, a complex emotion flashed in Yi Qingzhuo’s eyes. She raised her gaze and coldly swept it over Shen Chaoyi. “I know.” Very cold, a coldness that kept people at a distance. She was clearly showing some concern out of compassion, but was scolded by her in return.

Shen Chaoyi silently looked at her for a moment, then withdrew her gaze and no longer paid attention to this woman who exuded danger all over.